Praying with A Broken Rosary

On Good Friday, my favorite rosary broke. This rosary is special to me for several reasons and I find the timing of its demise to be especially ironic. You see, this rosary is one that comes in the mail from this or that charity seeking donations. But it's important because it came into my hands a little over three years ago when I prayed to soon-to-be Blessed John Paul II for his intercession in a certain matter - and it happens to have the crucifix from his pontificate. It was also blessed by a friend of mine and is thus a reminder to always include that particular priest in my prayers.

And now, it is broken, and in fact, broke on the day we began the Divine Mercy novena; how apt a sign it is for the present condition of my spiritual life. How apt that this particular rosary would break, now, as we rejoice in a new Blessed, the one whose image is borne on one side of the medal of this rosary. Oh, yes, this is my JPII rosary all the way.

I have found, though, that the inconvenience of its broken chain in the middle of the 5th Mystery makes me ponder a bit more about the love of God for us, our own spiritual condition before Him, and the depths of His infinite mercy.

This rosary is not beyond repair by any means, but it is not something I can fix on my own. I need help to do it. I have to take it to someone else. Do you see the metaphor? So it is when we fall into sin, we cannot absolve ourselves; we must go to someone else in order to be reconciled to God. The rosary may still be prayed, and each time I encounter the premature end, I am reminded of the chasm that exists between God and me.  That break is a physical reminder that I must take my own broken soul to Our Lord, place it into His loving hands and allow Him to give it back to me, restored once again.

Even though we are all broken in some way, we must always pray. There is always hope, there is always God's mercy if we but ask in humility and sincerity.

Eternal Father, I offer you the body, blood, soul, and divinity, of your dearly beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world. For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have Mercy on us and on the whole world!

Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have Mercy on us and on the whole world. 

Jesus I trust in Thee! 

One Hail Mary

Obviously I've been struggling a great deal lately, and really, I've been at the end of my rope. Tomorrow, I hope and pray, I'll make it to Confession (finally!) and get a fresh start. I have a lot of things to get off my soul, and today found myself nearly despairing.

Then I came across a post at Sancte Pater on the efficacy of one Hail Mary. Even though I pray my rosary en route to work every day, this post went right to the heart of something for me.

There, at my desk at work I put my hands over my face and prayed, slowly, a Hail Mary, nearly in tears.

There has been so much going on in my life, so much that is not publishable; I've been overwhelmed at work and with stuff for school (the latter partially as I simply haven't been able to focus very well.) It all adds up.

What I read today isn't new to me, but today, I really NEEDED to read it again, but more importantly, to experience it.

There truly is no such thing as a "bad rosary". If you are regularly praying it, even mouthing the words while your mind is elsewhere, is it very effective? Probably not. But it's better to be praying than not, isn't it? And grace can't be measured or quantified in any way. It is better, of course, to know what you are doing, and do it with intent.

Perhaps that is what I need to do; spend more time actually paying attention to the words, to the depth of the mystery of the Incarnation to be found in the words of the Angel's greeting to Mary, recognizing that there is our Redemption, at hand. In the hands of the Blessed Mother...who said yes.

We can pray to her with confidence in any troubles we face, for Jesus Himself made her our Mother as well, and she is ready, just waiting for us to ask her to help us come closer to Jesus.

Hail Mary, full of Grace, the Lord is with Thee.

Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death.

Amen.

Ave Maria, gratia plena, Dominus tecum; benedicta tu in mulieribus, et benedictus fructus ventris tui, Jesus.

Sancta Maria, Mater Dei, ora pro nobis peccatoribus, nunc et in hora mortis nostrae,

Amen.

Vocation, Travail, and the Joyful Mysteries

For months and months now, I've been praying the Joyful Mysteries while pondering the gift and joy of Vocation, hoping to "get" it.

As I ponder this, I find I can't actually get through all the Mysteries, for they are not yet at any point of fruition in my life. As I pray, I try to see my own life, my own Call (whatever it is, whatever it means) in that of the life of Jesus and Mary.

Maybe one day I'll formally write a meditation on each Mystery, but for now, I'm only seeking to eke out the treasures, to understand my own relationship with Jesus through them, knowing they are relevant, but not always understanding how, or why. Each time I pray these particular Mysteries, I am trying to find the Joy, find the connection, and if I am stuck, well...I either complete the rosary as prescribed or stick with where I'm stuck, pondering what I can't understand.

The First Joyful Mystery: The Annunciation

The Angel Gabriel appeared to Mary, saying, "Hail, Full of Grace! The Lord is with Thee! Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb!" (Luke 1:28, 2:42)

Mary was at first frightened, yet had an implicit understanding of what the Angel said, for she responded in complete Trust: "Let it be done unto me according to Thy word." (Luke, 38) In the Angelus prayer, we find the Gospel of John 1:14: "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us."

All by Mary's fiat. She said yes. She said YES unconditionally. Not just then, but in every moment. When she gave her fiat, as they say, all of heaven and earth held their breath, awaiting her response. She made our salvation possible; she who had been chosen, purified, and prepared (through Grace) by God to receive the Word, gave her acquiescence to the Holy Spirit, who descended upon her as a pure vessel, like Mt. Sinai, Like the Ark of the Covenant, like the Holy of Holies; she was overshadowed by Kahvod, by the Untranslatable Kahvohd, conceiving of the Messiah out of her own flesh. A Virgin, pure, free from sin, Immaculate, for she had been created for this moment...and every moment forward.

She didn't just say "yes" in that moment, but to everything, and took action IMMEDIATELY.

Hail Mary, Full of Grace the Lord is with Thee. Blessed art Thou among women, and Blessed is the fruit of Thy Womb...Jesus.

The Second Joyful Mystery: The Visitation

Mary, having conceived of the Holy Spirit, got up and went to Elizabeth, her cousin. The Bible doesn't say much as to her reasons, but we can surmise that she was responding to the prompt of her Spouse, the Holy Spirit, and her human need to both comfort and be comforted. What we know from scripture is that she trusted in the promise of God, thus, before she arrived she knew Elizabeth in her age was with child.

To those who say Mary was "just a woman": Was that particular man-made Protestant doctrine created by MEN who have abandoned their wives and daughters? How could God call men and women to marriage and yet impregnate the Virgin Mary, abandoning her to the world? Isn't that idea a man-made, man-pleasing doctrine, suggesting sexual pleasure without responsibility? How convenient to men!

Isn't it more like the gentle, protective, creative Holy Spirit to be a gentleman, to live up to His promises and treat the Blessed Mother of Jesus as the spouse that she is and remains for eternity? Did He abandon her, or did He provide for her in every moment? Certainly He called her to suffer, but what Mother hasn't suffered?

But I digress, for this Visitation of Mary is relevant in every age, but in this Mystery, we must get to the core of the Mystery itself, which preceded the Paschal Mystery:

Mary arrived at the house of Zecheriah and upon her entrance, at the sound of her voice, the infant in St. Elizabeth's womb LEAPT at the presence of Mary when Elizabeth exclaimed to her, "Who am I that the Mother of My Lord would come to me?" (Luke 1:43)

Elizabeth recognized Mary for her sublime dignity, graced to her by God, recognizing her Vocation as Mother of us all, Mother of Jesus. St. John the Baptist, there at six month's gestation, LEAPT at Mary's and Jesus's presence (Luke 1:44); there, where Jesus would have been but a "lump of cells" in modern terms.

Was Mary just the Holy Spirit's little heifer? Was Jesus just a "mass of tissue"? Was the unborn St. John the Baptist just an overactive mass in his mother's barren womb?

If the humanity and divinity of Jesus, and the full prophetic humanity of St. John the Baptist were present in that moment, how can ANYONE claiming to be Christian and CATHOLIC claim that contraception and abortion are merely political issues?

If Jesus, a tiny tiny, scientifically unrecognizable embryo, at the point he met the fetus St. John the Baptist, were fully human beings at the time of that meeting....how can anyone who claims to be Christian continue to claim that contraception and abortion are not murder?

"Who am I that the Mother of My Lord would come to me?"

The Third Joyful Mystery: The Birth of Christ

Mary returned to Nazareth, three months later, full with child, where Joseph considered divorcing her quietly. He did not "know" her and had believed her to be pure; yet she returned clearly having conceived.

He did not want her to be stoned, and at his own word, such would be done for he was the betrayed betrothed. An Angel appeared to Joseph, revealing that indeed, his betrothed had remained pure, was chosen by God, and...so was he. Joseph the protector, Joseph the husband, Joseph the father.

The stares of the people, the scandal assumed, that Joseph had had relations with Mary before they were married! His very silence indicated both had been impure!

Both accepted the scorn without comment, letting others assume the worst, knowing God had chosen them for greater. Their humility lives on today...the scorn of their contemporaries has died in oblivion, without name, their gossip, unrecalled, their ashes...lost to the desert of Nazareth where they were buried.

Joseph and Mary, the couple scorned, have been elevated according to the glory God chose to bestow upon them; Mary conceived without sin, Theotokos, Joseph, adopted Father of God, whose adult life was lived in the shadow of the Mother of Jesus.

They traveled to Bethlehem, the place of Joseph's birth, for the census. What hardships they endured, physically and spiritually! How did the couple come to know each other in chastity and trust, knowing God had joined them, and their child would save all of humanity from their sins?

Travail

This is where I lose the thread of meditation. I know Mary is in travail, and after the conception of Christ, after the Visitation, after her journey, she gives birth.

The great Saints have said that her travail was not painful, for pain was/is penalty for sin, which she did not endure. Yet it is clear that Mary suffered far more than any woman on earth. I look to Revelation 12, where Mary (the Woman) flees to the desert and the Dragon makes war on her offspring. I know that is us; we are her offspring, for she is the Mother of all, even of Eve, whom she replaced.

I am stuck in "travail".

Even though I am single and know that I am called to marriage, I know that I am still called to motherhood in some sense. The Word has been conceived in me, and I gave my own fiat, believing it is true, accepting, foundationally, that there IS a Call from God.

I have said "Yes" to that Call, albeit imperfectly.

It has occurred to me, over the last year or so, and now, in my present darkness, that what I experience is akin to labor, although it is spiritual. A woman in travail, (labor) as her hour comes, experiences the ebb and flow of terrible, terrible contractions. She has nurtured the child in her womb for close to nine months, has sacrificed, has loved and awaits the coming of this wonderful child. She knows that what emerges is a result of love, a gift from God, and is life eternal.

As she comes closer and closer to giving birth, her pains become stronger, more intense, and longer in duration. She screams, she weeps, she writhes in pain, and no one can comfort her for there is no comfort to be found, until that tiny babe finally rests in her waiting arms, revealing her fulfillment.

It may be a moment, it may be minutes or hours, or even a few days.

Spiritually, it can be years.

I can't now write of the remaining two Mysteries; that of the Presentation of Jesus and of Finding Him in the Temple. I am still struggling to give birth to whatever I have conceived of the Lord.

For now, I must wait, accepting the intensity of the pain, trusting in God, knowing that this is not for nothing.

If I am a part of the Church, a Bride in the general sense that applies to all Christians, then it stands to reason that I must experience this travail, I must fight this war, and I must, even in this desert, know that God will open the earth to swallow what threatens.

Though my veil be torn and my countenance blemished, I can flee to my Savior, for by Him have I conceived this Faith and only through Him can I give it life and live it to the fullness.

And while they were there, the time came for her to be delivered, and she gave birth to her first-born son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

The Rosary, Raw Fish, Family, and Vocation

Rosary

This evening after Adoration, I went down to my brother's house for dinner. Since we couldn't celebrate my birthday last week, we planned it for tonight, yet when I was half way there Mom called to say they wouldn't be there!

Apparently my brother decided he needed to go grocery shopping. Happily, though, I had a key to his house, so Mom explained that my birthday gift was on the coffee table and it would give me "something to do". Inwardly I groaned, because I knew she was saying I should pray the rosary she was giving me. (I still have a rebellious side and an ingrained reaction inclined to automatic disobedience to Mom, even if what she is suggesting is something I WANT to do!)

So it was that I entered the empty house, and after setting my things down, went into the bag of rosaries Mom was giving me to distribute to others. Within that was my gift, a special rosary she'd ordered. In fact, she'd been told it would take 5-6 weeks...it only took two.

I think this is the most beautiful rosary I've ever had; it has pearls set in silver (not real!), and the medal has the Sacred Heart of Jesus on one side and Our Lady of the Snows on the other.

Although I usually pray the rosary during my Adoration hour, or, if headed to my brother's, I pray it en route. Once that rosary was in my hands, I understood why I hadn't sensed the inclination to pray as usual; right there, in my brother's living room, while waiting for them to finish their errands, I prayed this rosary for my family. I looked at the painting of the Prodigal Son I'd given my brother for Christmas, and realized that God was bringing things together for us all in a way none of us really understands, even now.

It was a beautiful moment of God's grace, His presence in the small things, and in fact, an answer to a prayer.

Raw Fish

Shortly after they arrived back home, we decided on a restaurant: a Sushi place nearby that apparently was running an all-you-can-eat special. Realizing that this isn't something that comes along every day, we headed over and gorged ourselves on a few courses of Sashimi, Nigiri, and a few different rolls, then another entree of either steak or chicken.

I've only had Sushi a few times, but have always enjoyed it. Today, though, was the first time I had sashimi and realized that perhaps THIS was the real test of whether or not I really liked it! I'll admit that I had to focus on not thinking about what I was eating. The reality is that we're "programmed" not to eat raw food, and yet, what was I doing? Eating raw fish doused in soy and (faux) wasabi.

The texture of the sashimi, (fish without vinegar rice) reminded me of exactly what I was eating and that, in fact...it wasn't cooked. And in fact, cooking it would have ruined it completely.

I've gotta say, though, tonight's dinner was FABULOUS. And the fried rice with my teriyaki steak was the best I ever had! We made certain that our server passed our compliments on to the kitchen!

** Sushi glossary

Family & Vocation

But the best part of the evening was just being with my family, to include my brother's girlfriend. Food, sake, wine and family. What can be better?

They are also curious about my upcoming trip so I explained what I knew, and they want me to come down for dinner again after my first trip in July. We might well return to the same restaurant...so how, in good conscience, could I ever turn that down?

As it is, I'm very grateful for so much right now. My family seems to be warming to the idea of my possible Vocation and they're curious about the life that seems so mysterious to them...and why it interests me. It's hard to explain to my non-practicing-Catholic brother and his girlfriend of the same mindset how God is at the center of everything.

Just the same, I'm grateful for their support. Tonight I brought home the large suitcase from my brother's luggage set. No one is trying to talk me out of this, Mom approves and understands why I'm going.

We did have a short discussion on how, especially, the cloistered communities come to be. How do they build their buildings? How do they live? I explained how they make products to sell, how people support them. My brother can't fathom this. I reminded him that this is how all the great cathedrals were built...from support of the people. Everyone paid for it.

Same with religious communities...benefactors support them, even as they work to support themselves.

I didn't tell my brother that I'm understanding this more and more. God is powerful. This summer I'm able to go on these trips to discern God's will through the same method that built the great cathedrals and maintains various religious communities today: faith and benefactors.

It will maybe be a long time before I will be able to explain any of this to my family. Even as they watch with interest and are wiling to help, they don't all understand. And that, actually, is beautiful, because I know that in that mystery, God is revealing Himself to them.

We all give witness to God through our lives. That doesn't mean we share everything, every detail, but rather that we live as God is calling us to live, follow Him in ways that might be uncomfortable for others to witness (and maybe us to follow!), and slowly, He is revealed.

As I've said over and over again, I'm not a Saint. I'm a train wreck. I'm a plane crash. I'm a husk of a burned-out relic of a car on the side of Route 66. My family knows this very, very clearly, and so does everyone who knows me.

Nothing that is happening to me is happening because of anything I've ever done. But if God can work through someone like me, it shows His glory, His perfection, His love, His mercy. And if I can take a step back and hide behind all that wonder, then I am willing to step up and take this risk.

It's still difficult, but I'll admit that the fact that my Mom and brother are cautiously supportive is amazingly helpful as I prepare to finally take this huge leap in July.

Maybe all it takes to bring people together is a little sake and raw fish. Oh, and the Rosary.

*

;-)

Annunciation

Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. Behold you shall conceive and bear a son and he will be called the Son of the Most High.

I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be done unto me according to thy word.

The words of the angel, words of comfort to a young girl who didn't know what to make of both his greeting and very appearance: "Do not be afraid."

He announced to Mary her role in salvation history, and with great compassion as well as great hope; it is said that all of Heaven held their breath in anticipation, awaiting her response. She had free will, and could have refused such a gift. But through Mary's yes, through her unconditional fiat, she brought salvation into the world in the person of her Son.

Mary's "yes" overturned Eve's "no" and effected the beginning of the reconciliation of man to God.  Her complete and willful obedience was in answer to Eve's complete and willful disobedience. 

We honor her today and are called to ponder in our own hearts this great and joyful mystery. 

Although I have been praying the Sorrowful Mysteries for most of lent, today I will suspend that discipline and pray the Annunciation, over and over again, focusing on that moment in time, that moment of complete surrender and complete trust in God. 

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee!  Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. 

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death.  

Amen. 

Jesus Died for You

This morning I was feeling quit dejected and frustrated. It's been a difficult week, and the worst part about it is that I haven't handled it well. I've been awful, and I can't wait to get to Confession so that I can get rid of all this "yuck" that encases me.  

And yet, I'm also dreading Confession. I know what I deserve, and I know I need to confront myself before God, honestly, without reserve, and it's never a pleasant experiece to recognize how holy I'm NOT.  

Until I get there, though, I feel, spiritually, almost physically, like Pig Pen in the "Peanuts" comics; I'm all dirty and I've got a nasty smelly cloud surrounding me, and everything I touch is soiled, too.

  

Sin does that. Nothing is hidden. God sees all, knows all. And all we have to do is come to Him and ask for forgiveness, because we agree, too, that we've sinned. 

I had to  take a quick run to the store this morning, and en route, I was mentally reviewing my week, hating the sense of being so soiled.  My own sin was weighing heavily upon me, and truth be told, still does. As it should; I'm in need of sacramental healing. I need to hear the words of absolution.  

Then I passed a church, and happened to glance at the sign adjacent to the road.  The words were simple, but they were just for me, in that moment: 

"Jesus Died for You" 

Simply stated. 

I mentally stopped my torturous mental inventory and focused on that one all-important Truth:  Jesus died for me. 

He saw me from even before His conception, and still willingly chose to be conceived and suffer this life. He took me upon his shoulders when He entered the waters of the Jordan, giving His very conscious fiat to God and to us. He saw me in the Garden of Gethsemane, and sweated blood in order to take on my just punishment.  He saw me as He was scourged at the pillar, and met my sin head-on, gazing at me with compassion, even as His flesh was visciously stripped from Him. He saw me when He was crowned with thorns, and uttered not a word of protest, taking my own rebellion into His own skin, letting it rip His own flesh. He saw me when He carried His cross, and did not condemn me, for He was suffering that I might not be condemned. And He took the nails meant for me into his own hands and feet, and died so that I would not suffer the eternal agony to which I have deserved time and time again.

He took on my sin. He saw everything, and still died...for me.  He became accursed...for me. 

Jesus died for me. 

It matters that I've sinned, and it's important that I accuse myself before God, and to the priest, of my sin in the Sacrament of Confession. It's important that I keep the suffering face of Christ before me, remembering His uncondemning gaze, so that as I accuse myself, I remember what matters even more; that Jesus died for me.  

Over and over again, I consider these words, and realize how much I need to remember them, how much I need to focus on them, especially when considering knowledge of my own personal responsibility. There is nothing we can do that will cause God to not love us anymore.  He saw everything, and went to the cross without protest, because it was the only way to expiate our sin. We can't do it ourselves. 

We need to depend on Him. 

And the more I go to Confession, the more I understand my sorrowful condition.  With a deepened understanding of my own wretched propensity towards sin, the more I love God. And the more I love God, the more I hate my sin, and the more I understand the suffering of Our Lord.

And the more I understand His suffering...the more I understand what real love is all about.  

Thank you, Jesus. 

Rosary Meme

Swissmiss tagged me for the Rosary Meme, wherein one is apparently supposed to show three pictures of one's favorite rosaries.

Mine aren't anything special, really. I see a lot of people with really fancy-schmantzy rosaries, and I've seem some truly beautiful works of art people pray over $50.00 to pray upon, and sure, I'd like to have one of those, too.

But of course, I'd be so afraid of destroying it that I'd never use it!

Rosaries are meant to be PRAYED, and so mine reflect that very utility and purpose.

The one I use most often is a red one with a John Paul II crucifix (Isn't that actually a Pope Paul IV crucifix?), with a JPII medal, and the other side has an image of the Immaculate Conception. I've been meaning to affix a St. Benedict medal to it.

This rosary is special for a couple reasons: first, because one day I was praying to John Paul the Great, and asked for a sign of his intercession. The very next day, this rosary fell into my hands, along with a JPII crucifix I now wear on a chain, and a JPII crucifix pin (which I gave away). Secondly, this rosary was blessed by a friend of mine in July, and as he is a friend, it reminds me to pray for him and all priests whenever I pick it up.

The second rosary is the rosary given to me on the occasion of my First Communion. I still remember clutching it whenever I went to Mass (even though I never prayed it), but it always gave me comfort and made me feel "holy".

I didn't scan my other rosary, which is on my dresser. It's much like the red one with a fancier crucifix than either of the two here. I got it from some mission solicitation in the mail, but liked it so much that for awhile, it was the one I carried around. Oh, and it's blue.

I also have one from the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, with small black iridescent beads, a wire-thin crucifix, and the medal in the center is, of course, Our Lady of Guadalupe.

I'm not sure who to tag, so, if you're a regular commenter or reader with a blog to support photos....be tagged if you so desire! (Just let me know!)

My First Rosary

Well...I have completed my first knotted cord rosary. It's blue...and made of knots! I had Adoration today so spent the time praying my way through the knots (less praying, more focusing on knots, unfortunately). It's a bit misshapen, though. While the spacing on the decades is ok, the spacing between the Our Father knots and the decades leaves a great deal to be desired! It's uneven, some of the knots are just awful, and I messed up at the end so I have 2 Our Father knots at the beginning.

But two Our Fathers is better than one! He who prays twice...prays twice1

So we'll see if the next one gets any better. I think I'm done for today, though.

Our Mother of Perpetual Help Rosary

A few days ago I was contacted by the Redemptorists, who are offering a new Rosary CD. Most of you know of my devotion to Our Mother of Perpetual Help...after all, her icon graces my sidebar! And if you could see my house, and my office - well, she's come into my life via several avenues. I'm thrilled to be called upon to assist in what I see as Our Mother's work.

While the focus of my blog is not commercial, at the same time, any of us can recognize worthy causes and the need to be a voice in the wilderness often means promoting other voices much stronger and more effective than our own. Such as the Rosary. After all...who has a problem with praying the Gospels? And this CD is a special treat. Read it in the Redemptorists' own words:

First Rosary CD to Feature the Music of a Saint

First time St. Alphonsus Liguori’s music will be heard

CD to be dedicated to Our Mother of Perpetual Help


DENVER, CO...November 1, 2007...The first Rosary CD to feature the music of a saint will be released in November by the Redemptorists of the Denver Province. Titled, “Praying the Rosary with St. Alphonsus Maria Liguori,” the 2-CD set will be dedicated to Our Mother of Perpetual Help, the name by which Redemptorists “make her known throughout the world,” as stipulated by Pope Pius IX in 1866.

A percentage of the proceeds will be used to fund the work of our Redemptorist missions in Brazil and Nigeria.

Original music composed by St. Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787), founder of the Redemptorists, will be played during the reading of the Rosary and the twenty meditations, also by St. Alphonsus. A majority of the meditations are taken from his great spiritual masterpiece, The Glories of Mary. It will be the first time the music of St. Alphonsus will be heard by a mass audience and certainly the first time in English.

Rev. Peter Schavitz, C.Ss.R. will lead the listeners in the Rosary.

Produced and arranged by Little Lamb Music, St. Alphonsus’ words and hymns will be performed and sung by members of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Los Angeles Master Chorale and the Padre Serra Children's Choir. One of the selections includes his famous Christmas carol, Tu Scendi Dalle Stelle, which is performed every Christmas Eve as part of the Midnight Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, Italy.

Ray and Theresa Herrmann, co-founders of Little Lamb Music, produce and arrange Catholic music for families and their young children. Ray and Theresa have dedicated their company, their family and their lives to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Ray is one of the finest instrumentalists working in the music business today. He has played with and arranged music for the likes of Bob Dylan, Stevie Wonder, Johnny Mathis, Herbie Hancock, Chicago, and George Benson.

The release of the Rosary CD coincides with the 275th anniversary on November 9th of the Redemptorist Congregation, founded by St. Alphonsus Liguori in 1732 in the hill country of Scala, Italy, overlooking the Amalfi coast.

The 2-CD set will retail for $17.95 through Little Lamb Music. To order the Rosary CD, go to its website at littlelambmusic.com or call 1-800-231-1207 or 1-805-492-5302.